2011 Event Media Releases

7 November

Tom Stoppard in Conversation

Discover the real Tom Stoppard at Sydney Opera House. Don’t miss this rarpportunity to meet a man that has helped shape the world of modern theatre. Join what will be a fascinating conversation where ‘his story’ will be discovered, and you, the audience can ask the questions. More

7 November

The Zunz Lecture: Do Great Buildings Make Great Cities?

Do great buildings make great cities? Sydney is a city with its share of great buildings. While a Sydney Opera House or a Guggenheim are glorious ambassadors for their city; what is their impact on the life of the place and the people? More

31 October

Babies Proms: Christmas Bells

2011 marks the 30th Anniversary of Babies Proms at Sydney Opera House and we are ending the year with a holiday treat: Christmas Bells which will feature the Babies Proms Orchestra and a special Christmas chamber choir who will lead children in a variety of carols and festive tunes. More

25 October

Hairy Maclary and Friends

Smash-hit family show Hairy Maclary and Friends joins this year’s Summer at the House line up. More

4 October

Beirut

Beirut will bring their world-weary indie-folk to Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on Thursday 5 January. More

4 October

Fleet Foxes

Seattle’s Fleet Foxes will play Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on January 2 and 3 in what will surely be an early contender for gig of the year. More

4 October

Bon Iver

Bon Iver will play three nights at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on 11, 12 and 13 March, 2012, returning to Australian shores to celebrate the release of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, their highly-acclaimed, second full-length record, out now via Jagjaguwar / Inertia. More

Due to Overwhelming Public Demand, Sydney Opera House and Sydney Peace Foundation present a Second Public Event featuring Noam Chomsky. More

30 September

Open Day 2011

It’s an invitation to Aussies and travellers, for the little kids and the big kids - the chance to see what really lies beneath the sails of the Sydney Opera House at its annual, free Open Day on Sunday 16 October. More

28 September

Angelina Ballerina's Big Audition

Angelina Ballerina, the little star with big dreams who is adored by children around the world, will make her debut performance in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall this December as part of Summer at the House. More

7 September

Story of a Rabbit

After charming local audiences with Floating in 2009, Hugh Hughes returns to Sydney Opera House with another curiously comic show about a rabbit and one of life’s great mysteries – death. More

6 September

Monster School Holiday Program!

Sydney Opera House is ready to entertain your little monsters this September with our biggest ever school holiday program, including award-winning theatre, free activities and a brand new tour just for kids. Its school holiday centralat the House! More

6 September

Just for Laughs Festival Wrap

The very first Just for Laughs at Sydney Opera House has been declared a success, bringing in $1.5 million in Box Office revenue and attracting 16,000 comedy fans with sell-out shows across the festival. More

25 August

David Sedaris

NPR Humorist and Best-selling Author David Sedaris performs live in the Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House on Monday 16 January. More

25 August

Gang Gang Dance

Sydney Opera House by arrangement with Penny Drop presents Gang Gang Dance in The Studio on Saturday 10 December.More

19 August

ARTiculate

Sydney Opera House presents a new, free monthly series of casual conversations about the arts. More

15 August

The Gruffalo

Adored by children around the world, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s award-winning picture book The Gruffalo will be brought to life, in a musical adaption next school holidays, from 24 September – 8 October, as part of the Kids at the House program. More

2 August

Festival of Dangerous Ideas

Sydney Opera House today announced the program for 2011 Festival of Dangerous Ideas which will take place over the long weekend, October 1-2. More

28 July

Gotye: second show on sale now

Sydney Opera House today announced a second concert for Gotye: An Animated Album preview on Sunday 21 August as part of Graphic Festival. More

19 July 11

Alan Ball: Vampires, Death and the Mundane

Hear the creator of True Blood, Six Feet Under and American Beauty in-conversation with Wil Anderson. More

18 July 11

Media Release: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Mike Daisey, the man dubbed ‘the master storyteller’ by the New York Times will return to the Sydney Opera House Studio for an intimate staging of his newest production The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.More

7 July 11

What Makes A Good Life

Join three speakers from diverse backgrounds with different perspectives on life and hear them discuss what exactly does make for a good life and how it can be achieved. More

5 July 11

Just for Laughs at Sydney Opera House: Second Annoucement

Sydney Opera House today announced that Martin Short, Demetri Martin and Russell Howard will join the international, all-star line up of comedians performing at Sydney Opera House in September this year, as part of Australia’s first Just for Laughs festival. More

4 July 11

Kursk

Inspired by the tragic story of the Russian submarine Kursk that suffered a huge explosion underwater in 2000, this production will take its audience on the imagined journey of a British submarine sent to spy on the Russians. More

28 June 11

John Waters selects Double Features from Hell

John Waters is coming to Sydney this October to curate a film festival like no other – Double Features from Hell, from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 October at the Sydney Opera House. More

27 June 11

eighth blackbird

The Grammy Award-winning sextet and ultimate ambassador for new music, eighth blackbird, today announced their first ever Australian concert. More

23 June 11

GRAPHIC Animation Competition opens

Sydney Opera House today announced the return of the global GRAPHIC animation competition as part of the GRAPHIC 2011 festival of storytelling, animation and music. More

09 June 11

Just For Laughs

Sydney Opera House today launched a three-year partnership with the world’s biggest comedy festival, Just for Laughs, and Australia’s best-known comedy presenter Adrian Bohm, that will attract the brightest, funniest and finest names in international comedy to the Australian stage. More

7 June 11

Little Big Shots

Little Big Shots returns to Sydney Opera House for a sixth year over the weekend of 30 – 31 July with a brand new program of Australian and international short films, animations and documentaries for 2 – 15 year olds. More

31 May 11

Peter Singer

Once labelled the most dangerous man on the planet, Peter Singer is one of the world’s best-known thinkers and a controversial moral philosopher who will discuss the topic of Ethical Issues in an Online World in his Sydney Opera House debut. More

31 May 11

Thomas Friedman

Thomas Friedman is one of the world’s most influential public intellectuals. He has long been an outspoken commentator on global affairs with a unique ability to focus on the social, economic and political trends that are shaping our world. More

30 May 11

Spring Dance 2011

Sydney Opera House today unveiled a rich and varied program for its third annual Spring Dance - Australia’s only international, contemporary dance festival. More

27 May 11

Vivid LIVE Update

Sydney Opera House today launched its first ever iPhone App for Vivid LIVE. Available for download from iTunes now, features include live streaming of the Lighting the Sails, program information, ticket purchases, a photo application and more. More

26 May 11

Chris Cornell Solo Acoustic Performance

Chris Cornell, the Grammy winning rock icon and one of the greatest male voices of our time, brings his solo acoustic “Songbook” tour to Sydney Opera House on Saturday October 22. More.

18 May 11

GRAPHIC 2011 Program Revealed

Sydney Opera House today announced the program for the second annual GRAPHIC festival, a weekend of graphic storytelling, animation and music on August 20 and 21. More

16 May 11

Biz Markie joins Yo Gabba Gabba!

Biz Markie will join DJ Lance and the Gabba Gang, along with special guests, Art vs Science for the live stage version of the hit American children’s television series, YO GABBA GABBA! for Stephen Pavlovic’s Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House. More

10 May 11

Chris Cunningham - Second Show

Sydney Opera House today announced that a second performance by award-winning video-art pioneer Chris Cunningham has been added to Stephen Pavlovic’s Vivid LIVE program on Sunday 5 June at 5pm. More

6 May 11

The Cure "Reflections"

One of the world’s most enduringly influential bands, The Cure will perform for Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House on May 31 and June 1. More

4 May 11

Israel and Palestine in the New Middle East

With popular democratic revolutions holding sway in Egypt and Tunisia, and large-scale civil unrest in Libya, Syria, and the Gulf States, the political fundamentals that have underpinned the Middle East have irrevocably shifted the potential endgames. More

4 May 11

The Rational Optimist

Taking an original, engaging and optimistic sweep through human history, evolution, genetics and economics, Dr Matt Ridley argues that the human capacity to exchange objects and ideas has created the resilience and innovation that will equip us to come to terms with the challenges of the future. More

19 Apr 11

Lah-Lah's Big Live Band

Lah Lah's Big Live Band will perform in the Concert Hall, the biggest and grandest Sydney Opera House venue from 25 - 26 June as part of the new Family Proms series in the Kids at the House 2011 program. More

7 Apr 11

Havana Rakatan

From the heart of Cuba, to four sell-out seasons in London’s West End and playing to packed houses all over the world, the smash-hit Cuban dance spectacular Havana Rakatan finally comes to Sydney. More

6 Apr 11

Message Sticks

Message Sticks returns to Sydney Opera House from 12-15 May 2011, showcasing the best of Indigenous cinema from Australia and around the world. Launching at Sydney Opera House, the festival then tours nationally from May to August.More

5 Apr 11

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

From 29 September to 7 October 2011, the Vienna Philharmonic returns to Australia following the Orchestra’s first ever Australian concerts at Sydney Opera House in 2006. More

29 Mar 11

Vivid LIVE

From May 27 – June 5, Vivid LIVE features an astounding line up of local and international artists, all hand-picked by Stephen Pavlovic of Modular. More

11 Mar 11

Café Rebetika!

Café Rebetika! is an epic story of the heart. It is a passionate and uplifting theatre production telling a dramatic story against the backdrop of 1930s urban Greek slums that maps the rise of rebetika, the ’Greek blues’. More

9 Feb 11

UNKLE

Sydney Opera House will present electronic luminaries, UNKLE, for one spectacular live performance accompanied by strings, in the Concert Hall on Monday, 9 May 2010. More

9 Dec 10

Vivid LIVE

Vivid LIVE 2011 will be curated by Stephen “Pav” Pavlovic, founder of the hugely successful Sydney-based record label, touring company and international brand, Modular People. More